Greenwich Village: Music That Defined a Generation

Synopsis

A documentary about a scene that sparked social and political changes. For the first time, some of the greatest singer-songwriters, authors and performers from Greenwich Village reflect on how the American folk revival caught on and rippled across a generation.

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Greenwich Village: Music That Defined a GenerationDirected byLaura Archibald

This is a very well put together and well done documentary. It really captures the feeling and emotions of the time and it almost makes you feel like you were right there with everyone in Greenwich Village. However, it just didn't capture my attention... I feel like if you are a huge folk fan or just a huge music buff then this documentary is made for you! I just didn't personally connect with it.

The performances are what earns this the 4th star. Powerful music that time has not lessened. The times really were a changing and its nearly soul-crushing to see that many of the social and global issues these singer-songwriters railed against are still with us all these years later.

This is catnip for liberals like me. It's basically a survey of anyone who was anyone in the Village in the late 50s/early 60s with a gaping whole at the center where Bob Dylan should be. He doesn't appear in the film which is like reading the Bible without Moses. The filmmakers do their best though with what they have. I would have liked to see an Animal House-style recap, where we're told what became of people.

a good documentary, the aesthetics are nothing more than average, but yet it still provides a fair overview on what was happening musically in the Village in the sixties. Pretty straightforward to the point, simple and doesn't claim more than that.

Great old footage. So happy to see Odetta in her early days. In the 1950s, NY City Planner Robert Moses wanted to build the Lower Manhattan Expressway through Greenwich Village, directly through Washington Square Park. This scheme was defeated by grassroots organization led by resident Jane Jacobs, whose famous 1961 book, "The Death and Life of Great Cities," revolutionized the field of urban planning.

This pushed a lot of buttons for an old fart like me but for others, perhaps not so much. Still, this chronicles an important time and place in music and politics and is a good, if somewhat glossy introduction. And as an aside, Father Time has been kinder to some than others...